Title:

C. Moody letter on John C. Fremont stationary, 1856

Fremont stationary

Creator/Contributor:

Moody, C., creator

Abstract:

Letter written by C. Moody of Marion County, Ohio, to her brother. Letter features an engraving of Republican Presidential
candidate John C. Fremont. The end of the letter states "you will see that this sheet and envelope have Fremont stamp it was
got from our state fair reports say here that those envelopes are all blacked in the post office when you write let me know
if this is."

Date:

1856 (issued)

Subject:

n-us-ca

Frémont, John Charles -- 1813-1890

Campaign literature -- 1856 -- Republican

Note:

John Charles Fremont was known as the Pathfinder to his contemporaries due to his exploration of the Western frontier. Born
in 1813 in Savannah, Georgia, Fremont grew up in Charleston, S.C. where he attended the College of Charleston. During the
1830s he was a surveyor for the U.S. government and during the 1840s he led several successful exploring expeditions, becoming
a public figure after the publication of the expedition reports. Arriving in California during the Mexican War, he engaged
in serveral controversial military expeditions underm the United States flag. He served as one of the first senators from
California, thus beginning a passionate, if not particularly successful, political career.

Committed to the anti-slavery movement and yet desirous of preserving the Union, Fremont was the perfect candidate for the
Republican Party when it was formed shortly before the 1856 presidential election. He lost the election to James Buchanan,
however, and the country was soon involved in the Civil War. Fremont was appointed a major general by Abraham Lincoln and
put in command of the Dept. of the West based in St. Louis. After issuing an "emancipation document" for the Missouri territory
on his own initiative in 1861, Fremont was relieved of this command. Reassigned to the Mountain Dept. in West Virginia, Fremont
lost several battles to Stonewall Jackson and was once again relieved of command. He resigned shortly thereafter.

During the prelude to the presidential election of 1864, Fremont challenged Lincoln for the nomination but he soon realized
the futility of this attempt to stage a come-back. Giving up on politics, Fremont turned to the railroad industry to make
money but met with little success. He served briefly as territorial governor of Arizona in the 1870s before moving to New
York City where he died in 1890.